Candidates go all-out to woo voters

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ambala, October 19

As the clamour of electioneering came to an end at 5 pm today, the candidates shifted their focus to door-to-door canvassing and personal contacts in all four seats — Ambala Cantonment, Ambala City, Mullana and Naraingarh — of Ambala district.

An electorate of 8,42,852, including 1,96,001 in Ambala Cantonment, 2,53,443 in Ambala City, 2,12,557 in Mullana and 1,80,850 in Naraingarh, will decide the political fate of as many as 36 candidates in the fray. These include 5,632 disabled and 4,194 service voters. As many as 908 polling booths at 509 locations have been set up for polling.

Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij, sitting BJP MLA Aseem Goel, former minister and four-time former MLA Nirmal Singh, former MLAs Rajbir Singh, Jasbir Singh, Ambala Zila Parishad Chairman Surender Singh and two first-timer women Chitra Sarwara and Venu Singla Aggarwal are among the candidates.

While a maximum of 12 candidates are in the fray in Naraingarh, minimum six are pitted in the electoral battle in Ambala Cantonment. From Ambala City and Mullana seats, 10 and eight nominees are slugging it out.

Even as all candidates are putting in their best, all four Assembly constituencies in this district are heading for a triangular contest between the ruling BJP, the Opposition Congress and the Congress rebels. The INLD and the BSP candidates are also trying hard.

A visit to different parts of the district revealed that hundreds of party workers of the BJP, the Congress and the rebels were making last-ditch efforts to woo voters with road shows remaining the order of the day. All main contestants presented their respective show of strength by taking out road shows, leading to traffic chaos in Ambala and other parts of the district. The police also displayed might by taking out flag marches.

Flags, banners and posters are a common sight in rural areas while the emphasis is on door-to-door canvassing in urban areas.

The campaign saw some barbs exchanged between the Congress, the BJP and the rebels.

While the Congress leaders targeted the BJP government in the state over “failed” promises, the BJP talked about the alleged land scams when the Congress was in power and said the party had been reaping a “crop of corruption” in the state.

The violent quota agitation in 2016 also figured, triggering a fresh war of words between the BJP and the Congress leaders.

Know your candidate

Ambala Cantonment: Anil Vij (BJP), Venu Singla Aggarwal (Congress), Rajesh Kumar (BSP), Latika (Bharatiya Jan Samman Party), Shailendar Kumar (LSP) and Congress rebel Independent Chitra Sarwara.

Ambala City: Aseem Goel (BJP), Jasbir Singh (Congress), Anshul Kumar Aggarwal (AAP), Ravinder Singh (BSP), Sharan Pal Sachdeva (LSP), Harpal Singh (JJP), Nirmal Singh, Nirmal Singh, Yogesh Kumar and Rajesh Pahuja (all Independents).

Mullana: Rajbir Singh (BJP), Varun Chaudhary (Cong), Daya Rani (INLD), Krishan Dass (BSP), Amar Nath (JJP) and Independents Suraj Bhan, Anil Kumar & Mewa Dass.

Naraingarh: Surender Singh (BJP), Shalley (Cong), Jagmal Singh (INLD), Madan Pal (BSP), Gulshan Kumar (LSP), Ram Singh (JJP), Lakhvinder Singh (Bahujan Maha Party), Suresh Kumar Punia (All India Forward Bloc), Sharvan Kumar (Independent) (Bharatiya Shakti Chetna Party), and Independents Gurpal Singh, Mahender Singh, and Ved Raj.